KR20000039273A - Computer system equipped with storage device with bios code and its operating method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A computer system equipped with a storage device with BIOS(Basic Input Output System) code is provided to make a computer user select BIOS codes among BIOS codes stored in a hard disk when the user boots the computer. CONSTITUTION: A computer system equipped with a storage device with BIOS(Basic Input Output System) code has a general part and a BIOS part. In the general part, operating systems, application programs and other data are stored. And in the BIOS part, BIOS codes are stored. The BIOS part does not accessed by operating systems or application programs installed in the general part. BIOS codes are stored in the BIOS part and a BIOS ROM. The BIOS ROM has BIOS codes executed in the beginning of booting, and the BIOS part in the hard disk has BIOS codes executed after the beginning of booting. When a computer user boots a computer, at first, BIOS codes in the BIOS ROM are executed, and then, BIOS codes in the BIOS part of the hard disk are executed.

Description

COMPUTER SYSTEM HAVING STORAGE DEVICE WITH BIOS CODE AND OPERATING METHOD THEREOF

The present invention relates to a computer system, and more particularly, to a computer system having a storage medium having a Basic Input Output System (BIOS) code and a method of operating the same.

The basic input output system (BIOS) that is installed in a computer system is recorded in a read only memory (ROM) (commonly called a BIOS ROM). Upon initial startup of the computer system, the BIOS performs a POST (Power On Self Test) process to determine whether there is an abnormality of the system, and performs a boot process until booting by the OS is performed. As the performance of computer systems improved, so did the BIOS. Various functions have been added from input / output control of early basic computer systems to current power management functions. Therefore, the current BIOS code is significantly increased compared to the earlier BIOS code. As a result, the size of the BIOS ROM has also increased.

However, continually increasing the size of the BIOS ROM is a factor in the price increase of computer systems. Moreover, as the size of the BIOS ROM increases, so does the design of the hardware. However, as the performance of computer systems improves, there is a need to increase the size of the BIOS. If the BIOS code can be stored in a storage medium other than the BIOS ROM, this problem may be solved.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a computer system capable of performing a booting process of a computer system by storing the BIOS code in a storage medium other than the BIOS ROM as proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems.

1 shows a computer system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the computer system shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a memory area of the hard disk drive shown in FIG. 2; FIG. And

4 is a flowchart illustrating a booting process of a computer system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

10: display monitor 11: main unit

12: Keyboard 13: Mouse

14: floppy disk drive 15: hard disk drive

According to a feature of the present invention for achieving the object of the present invention as described above, a computer system comprises: a BIOS ROM in which a first Basic Input Output System (BIOS) code is stored; A storage medium having a general storage area and a BIOS area separate from the general storage area for storing a second BIOS code, wherein initial operation of the computer system is performed by the first BIOS code, optionally The BIOS code of 2 is executed.

In this embodiment, the storage medium is a storage medium capable of writing / reading.

In this embodiment, the storage medium is a hard disk drive.

In this embodiment, the storage medium is a read-only storage medium.

According to another feature of the present invention, a storage having a BIOS ROM in which a first Basic Input Output System (BIOS) code is stored, and a BIOS area in which a second BIOS code is stored separately from the general storage area and the general storage area. A method of operating a computer system comprising a medium comprising: executing the first BIOS code in accordance with initial startup of the computer system; Determining whether there is a function key input for executing the second BIOS code; If there is a user input for executing the second BIOS code, executing the second BIOS code.

According to another feature of the invention, a storage medium for a computer system comprises: a general storage area; The BIOS has a BIOS area in which a Basic Input Output System (BIOS) code is stored.

In this embodiment, the storage medium is a storage medium capable of writing / reading.

In this embodiment, the storage medium is a read-only storage medium.

(Example)

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a hard disk drive having a portion of a storage area as a BIOS area, and thus, the BIOS code stored in the BIOS area of the hard disk drive may be executed during a system booting process. 1 is a diagram showing a computer system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a computer system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a display monitor 10, a main body 11, a keyboard 13 and a mouse 13. The main body 11 is equipped with a floppy disk drive 14, a hard disk drive 15 and computer functional circuits, although not shown. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the computer system shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 2, the CPU 20, the memory 21, and the graphics controller 27 are connected to the system bus 22. The display monitor 10 is connected to the graphic controller 27. The system bus 22 also includes a BIOS ROM 23, a rewritable CMOS memory 24, an I / O controller 25, and an HDD controller 26. Connected. The floppy disk drive 14, the keyboard 12, and the mouse 13 are connected to the I / O controller 25. The hard disk drive 15 is connected to the HDD controller 26. In particular, the storage area of the hard disk drive 15 is largely divided into two storage areas. 3 is a diagram illustrating a memory area of the hard disk drive shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the hard disk drive 15 has a general area 15a and a BIOS area 15b. The general area 15a stores an operating system, an application program, and various data. BIOS code 15 is stored in the BIOS area 15b. The BIOS area 15b is distinguished from the general area 15a. That is, the access is prevented by the operating system or application program provided in the general area 15a.

BIOS codes are divided and stored in the BIOS ROM 23 and the BIOS area 15b. For example, BIOS codes that are performed at initial startup of a computer system are stored in the BIOS ROM 23. The BIOS area 15b stores BIOS codes, such as system diagnostic code and system setup utility code, which are executed after initial driving. Therefore, in the initial operation of the system, the code of the BIOS ROM ROM 23 is executed to quickly operate the system, and optionally, the code of the BIOS area 15b is executed. That is, the noses in the BIOS area 15b are performed according to a user's selection. A method of operating such a computer system is shown in FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a booting process of a computer system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, when the computer system is powered on or reset, the BIOS code stored in the BIOS ROM 23 is executed in step S40 to perform initial driving of the system. In step S41, it is determined whether there is an input of a function key. The function key is a key for executing BIOS setup as a specific key of the keyboard.

If there is no function key input, the BIOS code stored in the BIOS ROM 23 is continuously executed to proceed with the normal booting process. That is, in step S42, if the POST process is performed and there is no abnormality, booting by the BIOS is completed in step S43, and booting by the operating system is performed in step S44 to complete the booting process of the computer system.

On the other hand, if there is input of a function key, the process proceeds to step S45 where BIOS setup is executed. When the BIOS setup is executed, a corresponding function is performed according to a user's selection. At this time, in step S46, it is determined whether there is a BIOS code corresponding to the BIOS area 15b of the hard disk drive 15, and if there is no BIOS code, the process proceeds to step S42, and if there is a corresponding BIOS code, step S47. The corresponding BIOS code is executed.

In the above embodiment, the specific BIOS area is set in the hard disk drive, but the idea of the present invention can be equally applied to a storage medium such as a CD ROM.

According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to add a large amount of BIOS code, such as graphics of the BIOS setup environment, a system diagnostic program or an automatic system configuration program. And most of these BIOS codes do not have a limitation of execution time, so it does not matter if you increase the amount of code, it is not necessary to increase the size of the BIOS ROM.

Claims (5)

In a computer system: A BIOS ROM in which a first Basic Input Output System (BIOS) code is stored; A storage medium having a general storage area and a BIOS area which is separated from the general storage area and in which a second BIOS code is stored; And wherein the first BIOS code is executed during the initial startup of the computer system, and optionally the second BIOS code is executed. The method of claim 1, And the storage medium is a storage medium capable of writing / reading. The method of claim 1, And the storage medium is a read-only storage medium. Operation of a computer system including a BIOS ROM in which a first Basic Input Output System (BIOS) code is stored, and a storage medium having a general storage area and a BIOS area in which a second BIOS code is stored separately from the general storage area In the way: Executing the first BIOS code in accordance with initial startup of the computer system; Determining whether there is a function key input for executing the second BIOS code; And executing the second BIOS code when there is a user input for executing the second BIOS code. In a storage medium for a computer system: A general storage area; And a BIOS area in which a Basic Input Output System (BIOS) code is stored separated from the general storage area.